Hey guys, what's up? I'm back with another chapter to my best story. Special thanks to everyone who gave be feedback on my last authors note. So just quick bit of info, school has just started but I reworked chapter nine because I didn't like it. If you wanna go check it out, great. If not, the events that come later will be a bit different and that's why. For the most part, it'll be the same but still. Anyway, on with the chapter!


"Well, we're going to be gone for the better part or even the entirety of the month even," Igneel said.

"Why?" Mira asked.

"I kinda told you something I wasn't supposed to," Natsu said.

"That you had more Slayer magics?" Mira asked.

"Pretty much. He's strong as hell, but he doesn't have the brain to formulate thoughts with more than a few words at any given time," Igneel said.

"Hey! That's not true!" Natsu shouted, "I just wasn't thinking about it!"

"Like I said, doesn't have the brain," Igneel said, ignoring his adopted son.

Natsu silently fumed in the corner, small rain clouds forming above his head causing ice to rain down on him. Igneel and Mira continued to talk.

"So how long exactly, would it be in this realm?" Mira asked.

"Well, around a week I think," Igneel said, "It could be worse, could be like the celestial realm or the godly realm. The celestial realm is a month here for every day in there and the other, well, an hour there is a year."

"I suppose you're right. When do we leave?" She asked.

"Right now, I suppose. You have wings in one of those forms of yours, don't you?" Natsu asked.

"Wings? Yeah but they aren't too functional. Or, well they are but you'd have to tell me how far. I wouldn't be able to speed along if it's too long," Mira said.

"I got her, her lungs wouldn't be able to handle the combined strain, and she'd have to stay by me anyway."

"Why would I have to do that?"

"Where we're going will be in the sky, or the way to get there is at least. After that, we're going somewhere that's pretty uncomfortable for humans. I'm the only person with enough magic go get you through it all anyhow," Natsu said.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see. Now, I'm going to need you to hop onto my back," Natsu said.

"Just carry her," Igneel smirked.

"Fine."

"Can I just get on his back?"

"He'll need to use his wings though."

"Wings? What wings?" She was going to ask more but she was interrupted by the sounds of flesh ripping and bones snapping and fixing themselves. Natsu fell to one knee as two giant wings sprouted from his back, bones ripping out of his body with small links of orange and red flames holding them together. Natsu growled in pain as his body reconstructed itself so he could fly. His muscles ripped away from his bones, attaching themselves to different parts. His ribs extended in the back, causing small spines to appear alongside each of his vertebrae which had also strengthened themselves and grown larger.

Mira could easily hear as the flesh on his back was punctured, steam pouring out of the holes. Natsu now had a solid row of bone spines along with a set of bones connected by thin strands of muscle. Mira watched in morbid fascination as Natsu's body knit itself together, the horrid sounds of agony and the revolting, nauseating vision of the man in front of her.

Finally, Natsu's transformation was done and he dropped to the floor, panting and sporting two gigantic wings. They boasted an incredible wingspan of nearly twenty feet. His wings looked like a set of dragon wings but also had a wicked set of spines along the bones at the top of them. While they looked like dragon wings for the most part, they also gave Mira a demonic vibe as the coloration and spines set them apart from Igneel's wings.

Natsu groaned and crashed to the floor as he stood up, a light breeze sending him off his feet. Natsu flew back a few feet before a barbed tail sunk itself into the ground, rooting him in place. Black scales with red lines running around them coated the rest of his tail and back. He also had a small row of scales coating his arms. Mira noticed Natsu had a weird set of black tattoos running along his left and right arm. They banded around, looking somewhat like her own Satan souls.

Natsu groaned before flexing his muscles and drawing the wings back in.

"You never get used to it," Natsu complained.

"Maybe if you used it more often, it wouldn't be that bad. Plus you can dull your senses so why didn't you?" Igneel asked.

"Probably forgot," Mira said out of habit.

"I'd imagine you're correct," Igneel laughed.

"Haha, very funny, can we leave?" Natsu asked pointedly. He didn't need his best friend and father ganging up on him.

"Whenever you want to," Igneel grinned as he walked back into the underbrush, a small red dragon appearing a few seconds later. It couldn't have been much larger than Natsu.

"Hahaha you're tiny!" Natsu laughed.

"Shut up, I don't think you need everyone knowing there's a dragon here," Igneel grumbled.

Mira pointed out that Natsu was pretty damn recognizable. It was true, not many people could miss a guy with a giant pair of wings. Natsu laughed it off, nobody would see them. Mira groaned and let Natsu pick her up and they were off. Natsu unfurled his wings and was immediately blown up into the air as a light gust of wind from Igneel sent them all sky high. Natsu wasn't willing to flap his wings yet, lest he send them too high or uproot a few trees. Natsu followed Igneel who had shot up, flying through the air. Natsu sent a single strong burst of energy to his wings and they immediately rushed up several hundred feet. Natsu easily matched Igneel's pace. They flew up a several thousand feet before Natsu swore.

"We missed it, again."

"Damnit, how does this always happen?" Igneel roared in frustration.

"Maybe if you paid more attention, it wouldn't happen!" Natsu yelled back before he folded his wings back in. Natsu's momentum carried them a bit before they started to slow down. Mira gazed around, taking in the view. Quite perfect, and not just because of the clouds and soft moonlight causing everything to glow. The sight was ripped away as they started to plummet. Natsu dove straight down, the wind blowing his hair and scarf back.

Natsu waited, and waited, then waited some more. He punched a hole through a large cloud with Igneel not far behind him. Natsu laughed seeing a familiar sight. Mira opened her eyes, though she didn't quite recall closing them.

A large, sprawling expanse stretched beneath them. Mira could easily see titanic winged reptilians resting around doing whatever they pleased.

"Holy fu-" Mira's comment as ripped from her mouth as Natsu's shouted out something unintelligible to Igneel and dove towards the ground. Mira tensed as Natsu dove farther and farther towards the ground. She nearly passed out as Natsu flipped and his feet slammed into the ground, his feet basically punching holes into the ground. Natsu got about knee deep before the ground gave out and a small crater formed as the ground lost some of its structural integrity. Natsu powderized the majority of the stone around him.

Any normal person would have had their bones shatter into millions of pieces and their innards shot out of their body. Not the most pleasant of experiences. Luckily, Natsu had mind enough to toss Mira into the air before he landed. He caught her as she had come down though it was hardly noticeable to her. She probably didn't even know.

Natsu almost instantly got a fist to his gut though it didn't hurt him. Mira looked pissed and opened her mouth to say something but two of the titanic beasts had made their way over. Natsu was Mira were dwarfed by Igneel and a the other dragon. While it was smaller, it exuded power not that far from that of Igneel's own. Despite being smaller, it still towered over the two humans, or human and draganoid.

"Old man! How's it been?" Natsu shouted before the smaller dragon swatted him away with a claw, sending him across the clearing. Natsu extended his wings (which were notably smaller than before), to catch himself.

"Oi! What the hell geezer? It's been several years since I've seen you and that's how you say hi?" Natsu yelled indignantly. Again he was ignored. Natsu flapped his wings and rocketed straight at the offending dragon. Natsu growled before ripping his first back and smashing it into the small dragon's face. Said dragon was cleanly lifted off its feet and sprawled on its back. Mira's and Igneel's jaws dropped seeing it. While Igneel knew his son had strength a good many times stronger than most, he had just watched a man in a twenty-one-year-old body send several tons of dragon straight into the air, all with one punch. As for Mira, she'd never seen anything like it.

"Damn, Brat. Someone's been training," the dragon said.

"Definitely have!" Natsu grinned, "When's our next spar by the way?"

"You and your fighting," the dragon said, "let this bag of bones rest a bit."

"Oh please, you got another few hundred years in you before you start feeling it," a larger, metallic dragon spoke up from behind the first.

"Metallicana, it's been a hot minute," Natsu grinned, "you'll be happy to know, I whooped Gajeel's ass."

"With a punch like that, I'd imagine as much. Probably broke the damn guildhall too," Metallicana said. Natsu chuckled sheepishly, thinking about the destroyed guild Hall.

"That hurt you know," the smaller dragon said.

"Oh well, next time don't ignore me!" Natsu shouted.

"I suppose that's fair," he said.

"And don't act like it hurt that much! It's not like it caused any permanent damage, you're not that old yet!" Natsu said.

"Yeah, you could be like him back there," Metallica said swiping his tail in a large cave's direction. It also served to cuff Natsu in the back of the head as the tail came full circle. Natsu laughed and stopped the tail, redirecting it with one hand. Despite redistributing the majority of the force, Natsu still slid back several feet with his feet sinking into the ground, leaving deep gouges. Natsu, to his own credit, was able to stand up perfectly straight, even when he got hit.

"Gonna have to try harder than that Tin Can! You must be getting old!" Natsu grinned and threw his arms back behind his head. He hadn't been here in nearly three years so it was fun to catch up with people, or ya know, dragons. It was fun regardless. Natsu was quite enjoying himself while Mira stood awkwardly to the side and Igneel caught up with some friends. Natsu didn't really notice, but he never did so Mira wasn't surprised.

Natsu was animatedly talking to several of the larger dragons when a distinctly smaller one dropped onto the ground almost silently next to Mira. She wasn't concerned but it was still frightening. Despite being a few times smaller than their counterparts, it still probably weighed a few tons. If it hadn't seen her, she would have been smashed like a bug. None of the other dragons seemed to notice the newcomer and the newcomer didn't appear to care. If anything, it was staring more intently at Mira than anyone. Said mage gulped loudly.

Mira stared back, swallowing, or trying to at least, any fear that she felt. Dragons would respect that right? Maybe? Natsu seemed to though there wasn't anyone around that could give him a challenge. Mira wasn't sure whether to feel uncomfortable or just plain worried. This dragon had been standing here for the better part of a few minutes now. Mira glanced around and saw no help from Natsu as he was busy fighting someone.

It spoke soon after, and Mira assumed it was male given the slightly higher yet gravelly voice. It, or he introduced himself as a younger dragon, only recently reaching the first stage of adulthood. Mira gave him a blank look in the hopes that he might understand that she had no idea what that was. Suddenly, a rather large spear of metal landed right next to them. Luckily it hadn't killed anyone, but it had come quite close to skewering the young dragon.

"Why are you talking to me?" Mira asked bluntly though not impolitely.

"I was wondering why you were here. New dragon slayer I figured. Also gives me a chance, I just have to wait honestly," he said.

"Chance at what?"

"Well, you'll eventually be a dragon, right? Well that means I have a chance with you. Being the strongest of the brood means I get my choice of mates, and I want to choose you," he said.

A flaming figure came rushing and slammed its fist into the young dragon's face, successfully sending the young dragon tumbling back several hundred feet .

"Like hell asshole!" Natsu yelled before immediately following and speaking a language Mirajane knew nothing about. It was very harsh and loud, basically roars honestly. Natsu roared once more and the young dragon roared back, though not nearly as loudly. Natsu stood stiff, quickly straightening his body before bending his body at the waist into a deep bow, 60 degree. Natsu waited and waited and he seemed to be searching for something from the other dragon. Nothing happened for a solid five minutes until the younger dragon rushed forward and tried to strike the young man. Natsu growled and flipped his body, planting his feet into the dragon's head, sending it rocketing into the ground. Natsu waited.

The dragon stumbled up and roared again before rushing forward. Natsu closed his eyes and breathed out, long streams of white smoke pouring off od his body. The younger dragons neared him, flying as fast as his wings would push him. Natsu's eyes snapped open as soon as the dragon was close. Natsu nailed him on the underside of the jaw with a fierce uppercut. The younger dragon was sent barreling off into the sky, sent flying once more. Natsu glanced around. All heads were turned towards them. Fights were common, but contrary to popular belief, Natsu rarely fought the younger dragons. It was obvious why. Natsu hadn't taken a single hit and had hardly moved other than to deliver the one kick.

Natsu was pissed. To think one of their own would so casually forget tradition due to anger. Even Acnologia had respected it, not forgetting his backgrounds. Natsu glanced over to Igneel who stood impassively along with the other dragons who had slayers. Natsu searched Igneel's eyes for a moment longer, finding the familiar glint in them. Natsu silently questioned him. Igneel sent a slight nod before closing his eyes and laying down on the ground. A few of the other dragons looked over at him but the ones that knew simply shrugged and kept watching. Natsu noticed he had received the rapt attention o the younger of the brood as they rarely were able to witness real fights.

Natsu glanced over to Mira as he sidestepped the dragons punch, casually dancing around the blow and redirecting it away from himself. He couldn't read her face. Her eyes were shadowed by her bangs which were normally put up using a small hair tie. Natsu glanced lower, towards her mouth. He could have sworn he saw the faintest of smiles on her face. Natsu silently wondered to himself, ducking under another blow and sending it back into the younger dragon's face as it had overextended its arm and put too much momentum into the punch, leaving it open as it tried to land a solid blow.

Natsu looked around, seeing the opinions of everyone else. The fire dragons around, with one in particular looking none too pleased. Natsu felt the intake of breath and let the bellowed fire consume his body. Natsu smirked and looked up. While the other dragons couldn't see anything but a silhouette, the younger one got the distinct view of a set of glowing red eyes staring at him. Natsu chuckled to himself as he slurped up the fire. Of course the younger dragon probably wouldn't have known he was a fire dragon slayer. The youngling most likely wasn't adept enough for the use of it. Natsu finished eating the fire as the dragon had to take another breath. Natsu exhaled, fire billowing out of his mouth.

Natsu glared up at the dragon up in the sky above him as it beat its wings. It roared. Natsu laughed and roared back, dwarfing out the sound of the youngling. Natsu was bored at this point.

Natsu looked back at Igneel once more and the he nodded. Natsu paused for a moment, was the younger dragon just that impulsive? All of the fire dragons knew that it was a slayer that was prince. Strange. It was either ignorance or impulsiveness, or it could be pure stupidity. All dragons could eat their own element, so long as it wasn't theirs. Maybe he thought it didn't apply to slayers? Natsu held up his hand and caught the giant flaming fist. Natsu wasn't at all concerned as his feet went into the ground, sinking to his knees under the force of the fist. Natsu laughed and stepped out of his little hole. As soon as he was done, he batted the fist away and the youngling was sent barreling face first towards him as his momentum was no longer being stopped. Natsu swung his arm in a left hook, battering the young dragon in the face. The dragon shot off to the side, toppling through the air before crashing against a tree. Natsu growled and simply hopped out of the way of a large fireball, a small trail of fire leaking out of his own mouth. Natsu roared, a giant stream of flames engulfing the dragon entirely and the hundred feet radius around him as well.

Natsu bowed once more and walked away. The flame cleared and there was one very toasty, and of course the irony wasn't lost on Natsu, fire dragon. Natsu chuckled to himself as he walked over to Mira.

"What as your deal?" Mira asked.

"Uhhh well…" Natsu began. Fuck, Natsu was going to have to think on his feet, "Well first off, he disrespected what is basically our dragon code. We can't have that because that's exactly how Acnologia became what he is today. Second, it's extremely rude to do that to anyone, a dragon taboo almost. Mates, if you recall, aren't forced into a bond, rather they can reject or accept it through the use of a personalized mark."

"Seems reasonable," Mira after a moment and dropping her contemplative look. Natsu knew he wasn't quite off the hook yet. She was still suspicious of something, he just didn't know what. Of course, what he had said held a lot more truth than most realized. Natsu was one of the lucky few who understood what it was like. Power corrupts, quite easily honestly. Dragons were feared for a reason, they had power in spades. It was thus that the dragon culture was developed to try and keep a hold on the true danger of their power. It kept them in tune with their magic, made sure they knew what they were doing with it, and tempering their own beliefs as well. It helped keep respect. Bowing put people in a very dangerous position, the deeper the bow, the harder it was to defend themselves.

Regardless, Mira had dropped it and so would Natsu. Natsu cracked his signature grin, his sharp teeth on full display.

"So, I suppose it is time to go, isn't it?" Natsu asked.

"Agreed, we have places to be," Igneel said as he walked up and batted his son across the head.

"What was that for!?" Natsu yelled.

"Well, you did just burn a dragon to a crisp," Mira supplied helpfully.

"I like her," Igneel said, "She's strong and also smart. Unfortunately, you're only one of those."

"Hey! That's not fair!" Natsu yelled.

"Who cares? Besides, it's time to go. I don't suppose you're fire resistant?" Igneel asked, turning to the platinum blonde.

"Unfortunately not, I'm no fire dragon," Mira said.

"That sucks," Natsu said, "Oh well, looks like you're stuck with me for the next little bit that you're here."

"Why?" Mira asked, somewhat irate.

"I'm pretty certain you don't want to be deep fried extra crispy from the inside out?" Natsu asked, "You would be cooked as your blood boiled and caused you to swell like a balloon. In all honesty, it would have probably happened four or five terms. Blood boils at around one hundred degrees (Note: Celsius, at 1 atm or standard atmospheric pressure) and the ambient temperature is like a thousand or so degrees? Plus we kinda take baths in lava because some of us either boil off the water when it touches us or we use lava out of convenience, burns that junk right off."

"Oh yes, that sounds amazing," Mira said sarcastically, "Just what I wanted. Though I do suppose it could be worse. I'd rather not be dead, ya know?"

"Yep!"

"It was a rhetorical question."

"Shut up! I knew that!"

"Sure you did, sure you did."

"Totally did."

"Excuse me you two, but if we could be off, that'd be great."

"Stay out of it!"

"You brat! I'll knock you into next year!"

"Try it!"

"And here I thought we might get something done today," Mira said quietly. Of course she somewhat forgot that they had super hearing.

"It's not my fault!" They both yelled before glaring at one another, "It was his fault! NO SHUT UP IT WAS TOTALLY YOUR FAULT! STOP COPYING ME DAMNIT!"

"I swear you're both five years old," Mira deadpanned.

"It's him!" They whined.

"Don't care, let's go!" Mira glowered.

Natsu and surprisingly Igneel pacified. Most of the other dragons silently, (and also not so silently) gaped. Some human just did something the strongest of dragons couldn't do. Natsu and Mira said a few quick words before Igneel took off, roaring a goodbye and telling the duo that he'd meet them at lunchtime. Natsu quickly asked Mira something which she nodded to. Natsu waited a few seconds and the duo was enveloped in his wings. A brief flash of light and a snapping cracking sound later, they were in a lavishly furnished room, largely containing red and gold hues along with a good amount of black trim. It seemed like somewhat of an off combination, creating a rather dark and dreary room, but it seemed to work, the natural light in the room seemed to make everything glow in a softer tone than it actually was. Natsu grinned and ran up to a giant tree that had grown through the floor and went up into the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, Mira noticed that the tree branches actually formed the majority of the ceiling.

"Natsu, the tree?"

"Oh yeah, it was a gift from a friend. I think he said to put it outside in the garden but I forgot about it and here we are now a few hundred years later, ya know? It just kinda happens sometimes," Natsu grinned as he jumped through the branches. The room was easily large enough for him to do that so it wasn't like he was cramming himself in small areas or smashing holes in what was effectively their roof.

"A giant tree grows in your room and stands in as your roof?" Mira asked to which Natsu simply nodded vigorously, "And wait just a second, what do you mean hundreds of years?"

"Oh did you forget? I'm like four hundred and thirty-six. So yeah, this body that you see is at least eighty," Natsu said.

"For someone who should be dead a few times over, you've aged extremely well," Mira said as she poked Natsu's chest a bit.

"Why thank you, I fight a lot."

"I do hope you realize that doesn't explain it but sure."